The present invention relates to a wireless communication system.
With expansion of the field of application of computers, there is a growing market demand for those computers consisting of two separate units of a computer main body (referred to as “a first terminal apparatus”) and a display apparatus (or alternatively, a displaying section and a pen inputting section) (referred to as “a second terminal apparatus”). In such an apparatus, a first terminal apparatus is carried, for example, on an automobile. Using a second terminal apparatus, even a user freely moving around can operate the computer and watch the displayed screen. Wireless communication between the first and the second terminal apparatuses permits the user to move around freely within the reach of the wireless communication, thereby imparting a higher convenience to the apparatus. In such a wireless communication system, in order to avoid communication crossing among terminal apparatuses, an arbitrary channel is selected from a plurality of communication channels and used for communication.
With reference to FIG. 10, described below is an apparatus consisting of: a first terminal apparatus comprising a computer main body; and a second terminal apparatus comprising a displaying section.
FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of the wireless communication system.
In FIG. 10, numeral 1001 indicates a first terminal apparatus comprising a computer main body. Numeral 1002 indicates a docking station. Numeral 1003 indicates a keyboard. Numeral 1004 indicates a display. Numeral 1005 indicates a second terminal apparatus comprising a displaying section. Image data generated by the computer of the first terminal apparatus 1001 is transmitted to the second terminal apparatus 1005 by wireless. The displaying section of the second terminal apparatus 1005 displays the screen depending on the received image data. The displaying section of the second terminal apparatus 1005 further serves as an input apparatus with a touch panel, an input pen, and the like thereby to transmit the input data to the first terminal apparatus 1001 by wireless. The computer of the first terminal apparatus 1001 processes the input data. The first terminal apparatus 1001 can be connected to the docking station 1002, which permits the connection both to an input apparatus such as a keyboard and to an output apparatus such as a display.
Meanwhile, not so many communication channels can be assigned to those apparatuses in which a computer (main body) and a displaying section can be used in separate units. Accordingly, when a plurality of such apparatuses are used nearby to each other, communication crossing occurs in some cases. An example of such cases is that a plurality of automobiles each provided with a computer (main body) (first terminal apparatus) gather at a location and that the automobile drivers each having a displaying section (second terminal apparatus) work in communicating with their respective first terminal apparatuses. In case that a fixed communication channel is assigned to each apparatus, it is not probable that no duplication occurs in the communication channels among all of the apparatuses within the reach of radio waves. In particular, in case that the apparatuses are carried on automobiles and the like and hence movable, the communication crossing is difficult to avoid.
Further, in case that the communication channels are selected by the terminal apparatuses exchanging the positional information with each other, it is necessary to accurately obtain the positional information and the communication channels for all of the apparatuses within the reach of radio waves. This causes a difficulty in avoiding the communication crossing.
A wireless telephone system is a system in which communication channels are managed to avoid the communication crossing. However, because of the limit in information transfer rate, large data such as image information can not be transmitted in the system.
No prior art wireless communication system has been capable of resolving the above-mentioned problem.
An object of the present invention is to resolve the above-mentioned problem. More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication system in which for example, a management center maintains a data base of the positional information of apparatuses thereby to assign communication channels, whereby computers (main bodies) and corresponding displaying sections can communicate with each other without communication crossing even in case that a plurality of those apparatuses in which the computer (main body) and the displaying section can be used in separate units are used nearby to each other.